PERSON: Sam Bankman-Fried

Entrepreneur

Samuel Benjamin Bankman-Fried (born March 6, 1992), also known by his initials SBF, is an American entrepreneur, investor, and former billionaire. Bankman-Fried was the founder and CEO of the cryptocurrency exchange FTX and cryptocurrency trading firm Alameda Research. FTX experienced a crisis in late 2022, which led to a collapse in FTX’s native cryptocurrency, FTT. Amid the crisis, Bankman-Fried announced he would wind down operations at Alameda Research and resigned as CEO of FTX, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.<br> <br> Prior to FTX’s collapse, Bankman-Fried was ranked the 41st richest American in the Forbes 400, and the 60th richest person in world by The World’s Billionaires. His net worth peaked at $26 billion. In October 2022, he had an estimated net worth of $10.5 billion. By November 8, 2022, amid the bankruptcy of FTX, his net worth was estimated to have dropped 94 percent in a day to $991.5 million according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, the largest one-day drop in the index’s history. On November 11, 2022, the Bloomberg Billionaires Index considered Bankman-Fried to have no material wealth.<br> <br> Before Bankman-Fried’s wealth disappeared in November 2022, Bankman-Fried was a major donor to political campaigns, and planned to spend tens of millions in the 2024 U.S. presidential election.<br> <br> On December 12, 2022, Bankman-Fried was arrested in the Bahamas, pending potential extradition to the United States. An indictment of him before the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York was unsealed on December 13, revealing a range of charges for offenses, including wire fraud, commodities fraud, securities fraud, money laundering, and campaign finance law violations. Bankman-Fried faces up to 115 years in prison if convicted on all eight counts. On December 22, Bankman-Fried was released on a $250 million bond, on condition that he reside at his parents’ home in California.<br> <br> [Https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Bankman-Fried]